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Client Testimonial

It’s a pleasure to offer some professional words about Evolve and in particular, Zoe Rogers. Zoe is always enthusiastic, bubbly and professional even when under pressure, going to great lengths to fulfil our booking requirements at any time of the day. Understanding the business here at Lords is paramount to our success as a leading in-house catering operation. Having built up a rapport over a number of years we are provided with consistent and high-quality chefs. All of our bookings are clearly communicated with regular chefs returning time and time again. For us this takes a lot of pressure off our operations at key times during the year. We look forward to having a continuing working relationship with Zoe and the team at Evolve Hospitality.

I have worked with Zoe for the past few years and she is a key part of my match day operation. Her understanding of the skill set of each chef really makes my life easier by being able to trust her where we place individuals into appropriate kitchens to deliver a busy operation. Zoe has a fantastic personality and always stays positive in what is sometimes a pressurised environment.

I worked with Molly during my time as DGM for Searcys Barbican though 2016/17. Molly was assigned to my account as the consultant. From the on-set it was clear that Molly is organised, knowledgeable, positive and committed to both her business and mine as a client. One particular instance deserves particular merit, I was faced with the unenviable situation where my internal staffing had let me down at the 'very' last minute and I needed to staff an event day of some 20 additional team members. It was 15:00 and I needed the team from 06:30 the following morning! Naturally hesitant I called Molly and explained the unfolding situation, and without hesitation gave her customary “leave it with me”. Needless to say, the team was assembled and Molly herself on site at 06:30 to check them in. I later found out that she and her colleagues had kept the office open until 8pm to fulfil my needs - an exceptional example of commitment and service. Molly is a stand out individual in a very difficult sector and city. She is highly motivated in every interaction, and you definitely get the feeling that she truly loves the work she dose, which she dose with preservation and genuine passion.

Natalya is a fantastic representative for Evolve. She has a very caring side for both us as the client but also for her team. She clearly takes time to get to know them which really gives value to their relationship. Natalya will always support us as best she can - if it is short notice increases due to business demands or providing extras on the day, Natalya is always there with a smile on her face, willing to help wherever she can. She really is a pleasure to work with.

After opening Where The Pancakes Are… in 2016, my first restaurant venture after a sequence of festivals and pop-ups, I soon discovered how tremendously difficult it is to find people with skill or talent or both - let alone find people that are particularly suited for your company. After a steep and costly learning curve, I was recommended to contact Evolve by a trusted friend to help me find a Head Chef. It was December and potential candidates were very thin on the ground. Adam Nordone, Evolve’s permanent Recruitment Consultant, visited our restaurant and asked in depth questions to assess our style of restaurant, our environment and staff ethos. Within days a match was made and I haven’t looked back since and have continued to use them for both permanent and temporary recruitment. Every time it has been successful. It seems to me that Evolve's secret is twofold: Evolve is foremost a people’s business, offering a personable and fast service from beginning till the end, and they thoroughly examine their candidates as well as their clients to make sure there are no unfortunate surprises. Thanks to Evolve I have been able to build a strong and sustainable kitchen team - not a small achievement in London! Thank you all at Evolve.

Adam Nordone is our contact person at Evolve and single-handedly epitomises intelligent and personable service. A few months into our first restaurant I decided to close it until I could be sure to have a reliable and talented Head Chef. A matter of minutes after our phone call, Adam arrived at the restaurant - even though he was cautious to raise any expectations around recruiting a Head Chef in December, he was reassuringly professional, thorough in his assessment of our needs, and immensely generous in his dealings with us at the busiest time of the year. These qualities were clearly not only addressed at us - he made sure that, after matching us within days with our ideal candidate for the job of Head Chef, he followed through with the Chef as well - who received from Adam a bottle of champagne upon the start of his first day. I guess it comes entirely natural to him to look after people, to listen carefully and where needed steer his clients to consider candidates that may not have been the most obvious choice. He has often offered to come and help when we are in dire straits, to help us out in the kitchen - as he is a former Head Chef and all round professional I have no doubt we may want to keep him if we do!

I have been with H & J for 19 months and during that time have had many staffing issues. As a rule, I use Evolve upstairs in our Hospitality Kitchen for Chefs, ranging from CDP to Sous Chef. I think it is widely known that we are very demanding and exacting in our standards, Ricci has on so many occasions delivered what we require even with short notice. We have, on only a couple of rare occasions had someone who we felt was not to the standard that we wanted, but bearing in mind the level of expectation we have, that is not surprising and it has always been dealt with by Evolve in an extremely professional manner. I actually recall Ricci on one occasion working with me one morning as I was extremely short of staff and my Chef booked with him had called in sick - now that is service above and beyond I believe. The fact he was pretty good was another plus, disappointingly I was unable to book him going forward. I believe Evolve offer a service that is, standard wise, higher than any other recruitment agency I have worked with. My senior Chefs recognise and acknowledge the level of service we get, and it is much appreciated by myself & my team.

I enjoy working with the Evolve team (Jade, Sarah & Elliot). They will always do their best to accommodate my often last minute requests. I'm happy with the team of people I get on a regular basis. Overall, I'm very pleased with the relationship I have with Evolve – I know I can count on them.

I have been using Evolve Hospitality over the last 14 months since joining Harbour and Jones and have found them to be without a doubt the most consistently reliable and highest performing agency I've had the pleasure of working with. We all know the stress of the agency world and Jenny Walklate and Ricci Courtney, whom I mostly deal with, I've always found to be calm, polite and professional and have been able to provide me with my requirements in a more than satisfactory, timely manner. It's not often you find a company the size of Evolve that can maintain client relationships to the standard they do. Ed has done an outstanding job evolving the company (pun intended) and I'm pleased to have them as the supporting arm in our day to day business.

I have been using Chefs from Evolve now for about 18 months. The chefs you have sent me have been hard working, punctual, professional and shown a real love and passion for their work. This has been my first Head Chef role with the company and I fully appreciate the support.

I have worked with Ed Vokes for the last 5 years, he runs a professional hospitality agency that continually understands the needs of my kitchen and consistently delivers. His professional staff go out of their way, no matter the time of day and they're always clear on information and details whether for my current booking or future events. His team are hungry and positive which ultimately results in success for my busy eventing kitchen.

I have known Ed for over 10 years now – as well as working with him, he has become a friend and someone I trust to deliver an honest and straightforward service. Both Angie and Jen who look after me day to day work in exactly this manner and if something does go wrong they sort it and quickly – indeed Angie has even come and worked in the kitchen on a couple of occasions to learn how I work. I like working with Evolve and I can’t see this changing.

I have been using Ed and the guys at Evolve almost from the point they first started. Dan, Jen and Ed have a superb calibre of Chef and a full understanding of all sections of my kitchen from the Brasserie to Events. They also have Meryl - unique in the market - looking after Pastry, and her superb team have been a great help across both my a la carte restaurant and also banqueting. The team are always friendly and will help out even at the last minute.

We have been using Evolve since 2012, to start with mainly with Ben in Pastry Production and that has developed into Evolve Birmingham being a key part of our Ascot and Henley Operations and London working across both the Smart and Moving Venue Business. We have a great relationship with Ed, Dan, Dave, Clare and Ali and have formed a really good partnership in the last four years.

I just wanted to send you a message to say thank you very much for the staff you have provided us with so far at the museum. Sarah always works really hard to make sure the correct staff are provided for the correct event, and we are really starting to build a nice team with yourself. It is always great to have staff that know your venue and work well with the rest of the team. Long may this continue!

Thank you very much for all your hard work and excellent service during the busiest time of the year. You have all been truly wonderful and without your support we would not have been able to do it. We really appreciate your enormous help!

It has been amazing working with Evolve for the past year. The office team is extremely organised and helpful. Nothing is a problem! The staff Evolve provided us with have been extremely professional and efficient. Evolve is by far the best staffing agency we have worked with and we look forward to keep working with you!

I wanted to take this opportunity to say how great it has been working with Evolve in these crazy weeks. I'm sure you don't need me to say but Jess is a huge asset to your team - she has been amazing. Dealing with any hiccups that arose and dealing with all my desperate requests. She has been a pleasure to work with as have 99.9 per cent of the waiting team. Evolve have exceeded all expectations and I look forward to working with you all again.

On behalf of The Langham, London team I would like to pass on my kind thanks for all your help and support. There have been challenging times, especially over the Olympics, in which you have exceeded our expectations. All the staff you provided us are kind, willing and are a credit to our team. We will go on to seek support from your wonderful company and pass on our recommendations for such a wonderful team and agency.